Today our oldest son turns four! Today we are participating in the Bloggers Unite Fight for Preemies sponsored by March of Dimes. The two events falling on the same day isn’t a mere coincidence. While BigBrother was born at full term (38 weeks, 4 days), it was only by the medical research and science made possible by people who care enough about prematurity to do something about it.

During my first pregnancy with the Munchkin it was determined that I had a kidney disorder. I had two surgeries during that pregnancy in a futile attempt to fix what was wrong. I was put on bed rest at 18 weeks. I was rushed to the hospital via ambulance at 32 weeks with labor that wasn’t able to be stopped at our local hospital. Thanks to medical intervention (and lots of bed rest), she was born healthy and full term.

It was determined after Munchkin’s birth that I wouldn’t always have two kidneys and, as such, my child bearing years were numbered. While you can be pregnant with one kidney, my nephrologist said that it wasn’t in our best interest to attempt a pregnancy after the loss of the kidney, predicted to happen some time in my early 30’s. And so, we tried to conceive, successfully, shortly after we got married. The pregnancy was similarly complicated, minus a lights-and-sirens trip via ambulance. I made it to 30 weeks before I was put on bed rest. I had to take medicine daily in order to keep the contractions (and, as such, labor) at bay. I received steroid shots, twice, in order to mature BigBrother’s lungs. Like my pregnancy with the Munchkin, I was given statistics each week as to how likely he would be to survive if he was born during that week of gestation.

No mother should ever have to be aware of such statistics. It’s scary! I’m sure it’s meant to be reassuring but it’s scary. I am thankful, however, that there are scientists, doctors and researchers working to up the odds of each week.

As I said, BigBrother was born full term and quite healthy on this day four years ago. My right kidney completely shut down, I went toxemic and was induced to get him out as soon as possible. I am thankful for the doctors and nurses that worked so hard to give us a healthy experience.

Our family currently walks in the March for Babies every year (minus one). (LittleBrother’s story is similar except that I wasn’t induced as my kidney never completely shut down.) We are one of the lucky, success stories of what years of research have done. We are proof that miracles can and do happen. And yet we are all too well aware of how lucky we are. In addition to our complicated pregnancies, we have one unexplained miscarriage under our belt. More over, we are friends with far too many that have experienced later term miscarriage, stillbirth and the loss of their premature babies. We continue to support the work of the March of Dimes because we stand in solidarity with our friends and family in hopes that no one else ever has to endure such a loss. We stand as proof of the work that has been done while hoping, praying and supporting the work that needs to be done in order to ensure that the stories of loss become a thing of our past.

You can read others posts regarding the Fight for Preemies and experiences as to how prematurity has touched other lives. If you have a story, please share it. If you feel so inclined, donate to March of Dimes or read more about how you can participate.

We are so thankful. We are so blessed. We will continue to support the work that the March of Dimes does.

Prematurity is an issue that is very close to my heart. I walk (almost) every year with March of Dimes because I am so grateful to have birthed three healthy children. To get them to that point of healthiness, I had to work very hard, lay very still and rely on the medical world to keep my children in my womb. I’m not particularly good at pregnancy, my kidney disorder causing preterm labor to begin as early as eighteen weeks.

I’ll be telling more of my story, especially for my newer readers who don’t know about my very complicated pregnancy history, on November 17th here on the blog. Why? March of Dimes is hosting a Bloggers Unite event entitled Fight for Preemies as part of Prematurity Awareness Month®. We will be participating and telling our story, or rather, stories of the fight to keep those babies in my womb for as long as possible. Some of you might be thinking, “But weren’t your babies born full term?” The answer is, “Yes, but only thanks to medical intervention.”

I tell you all of this now, a month and a day before the March of Dimes & Bloggers Unite event, because I want you to tell other people. Right now there are 168 bloggers signed up to participate. Sadly, with over 500,000 babies born premature every year, I know that there are more than 168 bloggers out there touched by prematurity. Maybe you didn’t have to fight preterm labor or use medical interventions to stay pregnant. Maybe you didn’t give birth to a premature baby. But I’m guessing that you know someone or are related to someone who has experienced premature birth. Maybe you are the aunt or uncle of a beautiful premature miracle. Maybe you lit a candle yesterday for a baby you were waiting for that lost the battle. Whatever the case, March of Dimes wants you to get involved. In their words, “We need to fight ? because babies shouldn’t have to.” Yes. What they said.

Here’s how.

November 17 is dedicated to raising awareness of the crisis of premature birth. The March of Dimes invites bloggers like you to get involved.

• Learn about premature birth at marchofdimes.com/fightforpreemies.
• Put a badge on your blog during November, Prematurity Awareness Month®. (Ours is already up.)
• On November 17, blog for a baby you love and to help others. Sign up Bloggers Unite so that others may find you and your post(s).

What makes me all the more emotional about this topic is that they are holding the Bloggers Unite event on BigBrother’s birthday. While he was born at a robust eight pounds, eight ounces, that pregnancy was hard won. It started off difficult and remained that was for its 38 week, 4 day duration. We are so blessed that we can participate in Fight for Preemies while simultaneously celebrating four years of his life. Without research and support by March of Dimes, that might not be the case.

Come back on November 17th to hear about the hows and whys of BigBrother’s tumultuous pregnancy and the similarities between the other two live births. We will also be reading, commenting and linking to other Fight for Preemies posts on that day via twitter and our blog here. If you plan on participating, please let me know. I want to be ready to link to your story.

Come back and learn how these two boys (and their sister) got the chance to be so big.

And noisy. Don’t forget noisy.